Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Zakat Zakat (or Zakāh زكاة) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Zakat is the Arabic word for "Giving to Charity" or "Giving to the Needy". Zakat is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam a relig ...

al-Fitr or Zakat al-Fitrah (''the Alms of Human Nature''), is a form of alms-giving (in the form of staple food) which Islam considers required of every able

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

at the end of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

. The purpose of Zakat al-Fitr is to enable poor people to celebrate

Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...

, the festival to break the fast of Ramadan. In Islam, it is mandatory from sunset on the last day of fasting and remains so until the beginning of Eid prayer (i.e., shortly after sunrise on the following day). However, it can be paid before this period. Some of the

Sahabah The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...

(companions of Muhammad) paid it a couple days before Eid al-Fitr. The amount of ''Zakat'' is the same for everyone regardless of their income: the minimum amount is one '' sa`'' (four double handfuls) of food, grain or

dried fruit Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed prior to cooking or being eaten on its own. Drying may occur either naturally, by sun, through the use of industrial dehydrators, or by freeze drying. ...

for each member of the family, or an equivalent amount of money.

Classification

''Zakat al-Fitr'' is a duty which is considered

wajib ' () or ' () or fardh in Islam is a religious duty commanded by God. The word is also used in Turkish, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, Hindi, Bangla (''spelled farz or faraz''), and Malay (''spelled fardu or fardhu'') in the same meaning. Muslims wh ...

(required) of every

, whether male or female, minor or adult, as long as they have the means to do so. According to Islamic tradition (

Sunnah is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed, and passed on to the next generations. Diff ...

), Ibn 'Umar said that the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

made ''Zakat al-Fitr'' compulsory on every

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

, male, female, young and old among the Muslims; one Saa` of dried dates or one Saa` of barley. The head of the household may pay the required amount for the other members. Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree said:

On behalf of our young and old, free men and slaves, we used to take out during Allah's Messenger's (upon whom be God's peace and blessings) lifetime one Saa` of
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...
, cheese or raisins".

Significance

The significant role played by ''

'' in the circulation of

wealth Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...

within the Islamic society is also played by the ''Sadaqat al-Fitr''. However, in the case of ''Sadaqat al-Fitr'', each individual is required to calculate how much charity is due from themselves and their dependents and go into the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

in order to find those who deserve such charity. Thus, ''Sadaqat al-Fitr'' plays a very important role in the development of the bonds of community. The rich are obliged to come in direct contact with the poor, and the poor are put in contact with the extremely poor. This contact between the various levels of

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

helps to build real bonds of kinship and

love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

within the Islamic community and trains those who have to be generous to those who do not have.

Purpose

The main purpose of ''Zakat al-Fitr'' is to provide the poor which they can celebrate the

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

of breaking the fast ( `Eid al-Fitr) along with the rest of the Muslims. Its purpose is: # As a levy on the fasting person. This is based on the

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

: The Prophet of

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

said, "The fasting of the month of fasting will be hanging between earth and heavens and it will not be raised up to the Divine Presence without paying the ''Zakat al-Fitr''." # To purify those who fast from any indecent act or speech and to help the poor and needy. The latter view is based upon the hadith from Ibn `Abbas who related, "The Prophet of Allah enjoined ''Zakat al-Fitr'' on those who fast to shield them from any indecent act or speech, and for the purpose of providing food for the needy. It is accepted as ''Zakah'' for the one who pays it before the `Eid prayer, and it is

sadaqah ' ( , "charity", "benevolence", plural ) in the modern-day Islamic context has come to signify "voluntary Charity (practice), charity". Unlike zakat, which is a obligatory form of almsgiving and one of the five pillars of Islam, ''ṣadaqah'' ...

for the one who pays it after the prayer."

Conditions

''Zakat al-Fitr'' is

Wajib ' () or ' () or fardh in Islam is a religious duty commanded by God. The word is also used in Turkish, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, Hindi, Bangla (''spelled farz or faraz''), and Malay (''spelled fardu or fardhu'') in the same meaning. Muslims wh ...

and must be distributed during a particular period of time. If one misses the time period without a good reason, they have sinned and must make it up. This form of charity becomes obligatory from sunset on the last day of fasting and remains obligatory until the beginning of Eid prayer (i.e., shortly after sunrise on the following day). However, it can be paid prior to the above-mentioned period, as many of the Sahabah (companions of Muhammad) used to pay ''Sadaqah al-Fitr'' a couple days before the `Eid. After the spread of Islam, the

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

s permitted its payment from the beginning and middle of Ramadan so as to ensure that the ''Zakat al-Fitr'' reached its beneficiaries on the day of `Eid. It is particularly emphasized that the distribution be before the `Eid prayers in order that the needy who receive are able to use the ''fitr'' to provide for their dependents on the day of `Eid. Nafi` reported that Muhammad's companion Ibn 'Umar used to give it to those who would accept it, and the people used to give it a day or two before the `Eid. Ibn 'Umar reported that Muhammad ordered that it (''Zakat al-Fitr'') be given before people go to perform the (`Eid) prayers. One who forgets to pay this ''Zakat al-Fitr'' on time should do so as soon as possible even though it will not be counted as ''Zakat al-Fitr''.

Rate

The amount of ''Zakat'' is the same for everyone regardless of their different

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...

brackets. The minimum amount is one '' sa`'' (four double handfuls) of food, grain or

for each member of the family. This calculation is based on Ibn 'Umar's report that Muhammad made ''Zakat al-Fitr'' compulsory and payable by a ''sa`'' of dried dates or a ''sa`'' of barley. The Hanafi school permits paying Zakat al-Fitr in the form of cash, equivalent to the above amount, while this is not permitted Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. Using cash as a form of payment became the adopted position by many official fataw councils around the world. A companion of Muhammed, Abu Sa`eed al-Khudree said, "In the Prophet's time, we used to give it (Zakatal-Fitr) as a ''sa`'' of food, dried dates,

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

, raisins or dried cheese". (According to the majority of Sunni scholars One Sa'a is approximately between 2.6 kg to 3 kg.) The distribution of Zakat al-Fitr is the same as that of

, and is included within its broader sense. Those who may receive ''Zakat al-Fitr'' are the eight categories of recipients mentioned in Surat Al-Tawbah, : 60 They include: # the poor, # the needy, # collectors of Zakah, # reconciliation of hearts, # freeing captives / slaves (fee al-Riqab), # debtors, # those fighting for a religious cause or a cause of God ('' Fī Sabīlillāh'') or for

Jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

in the way of Allah,T.W. Juynboll, Handleiding tot de Kennis van de Mohaamedaansche Wet volgens de Leer der Sjafiitische School, 3rd Edition, Brill Academic, pp. 85–88 # the traveler. ''Zakat al-Fitr'' must go to the above-mentioned categories. The Zakat al-mal cannot be used for any other such things either.

References

External links

Zakat al Fitr - Zakat Fitrah

Zakat al Fitr 2025 - Zakat Fitrah
{{Ramadan, state=expanded Ramadan Zakat Islamic terminology